Our Staff

OUR VETERINARIANS

Dr. Courtney Mantecon, DVM

Dr. Courtney Mantecon is a daughter of an Air Force major, whom grew up in Spain and Korea before returning to the United States to attend high school, then college in Tennessee. She graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and completed an externship at the Animal Medical Center in New York, New York. She has practiced small animal medicine and surgery in Tennessee, North Carolina, Hawaii, and California.  Her areas of special interest are preventative health care and geriatric medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys hanging out with her family.

Dr. Sheeba Thomas, DVM

Dr. Sheeba Thomas graduated from Kerala Veterinary University in 2001 and was practicing as a veterinarian at Trivandrum, India. After moving to the USA, she completed the foreign veterinary graduate certification program in 2006 which included one year of clinical training at College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University.

 Her career as a veterinarian  in the United States started as an associate veterinarian in a busy five doctor, 24 hour emergency hospital in Sherman Oaks, CA. This hones her skills as an exceptionally skilled clinician. For the past one year, she had been practicing as a relief veterinarian in and around Los Angeles area, which gave her a different perspective of general practice.

Dr. Rina Fernandez, DVM

Dr. Fernandez was born in a small town near Scranton PA and moved to L.A. with family at age 13.  She attended Cornell Veterinary School. She currently does relief work at various hospitals and enjoys seeing a variety of clients, patients, co-workers, and work techniques.  She also briefly worked with a rescue group.  She is very interested in finding a way to better serve domestic animals, particularly in the areas of providing care to low-income households (economically challenged neighborhoods, elderly with fixed incomes, individuals with little support nets other than their pets and she is interested in educating people about proper pet care – from basic husbandry to preventing abuse to the important role pets play in individuals’ lives and society as a whole. She is very interested in the looking deeper into companion animals place in society and the good they can do as working/assistance animals.  Though currently she is mainly focusing on general practice and providing the best care she can for her patients and clients within that realm, she hopes to again find the time to work with, or potentially start, philanthropic organizations and research projects with the above focuses.  Her and her son currently do animal assistance through the ASPCA and visited children’s’ camps and state foster homes to help entertain and educate the children. They have 2 cats- a big black polydactyl bob-tailed cat named Sid, and Shenanigans, a sweet tortie that she found on her doorstep a few months ago. She enjoys hiking, book clubs, sewing, and camping in her spare time.

Dr. Armaiti May, DVM CVA

Armaiti May obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in June 2005.  After graduating from veterinary school, Dr. May spent 20 months working at a 24-hour emergency dog and cat hospital in the Los Angeles area. She then became certified in veterinary acupuncture through the Chi Institute of Chinese Medicine.

As a practicing veterinarian, Dr. May educates people about preventive medicine as well as holistic options that exist for treating their companion animals’ ailments. Since 2006 Dr. May has served on the Board of Directors for Red Rover, an animal protection organization that brings animals out of crisis and into care. She has also volunteered her time extensively lecturing to a variety of groups across the country on a wide range of topics including humane education in veterinary school, humane alternatives to declawing, the benefits of vegetarianism, and how to keep companion animals healthy.

Dr. May speaks Spanish and has provided volunteer veterinary services including surgeries, vaccines, and deworming to remote areas in Guatemala and Nicaragua without access to regular veterinary care. –

OUR SUPPORT TEAM

Tiffany Foley, Receptionist

Tiffany was born and raised in Ventura County, Ca. She started off working in a pet store and found her passion for animals. She then moved to Arizona briefly and began working in an animal hospital and has continued her passion in the animal field since then. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her sons and doing outdoor activities.  Although she wishes she had more pets  she loves her tortoises and her Shar-pei “Major”.

Marion Rodriguez, Veterinary Technician

Marion Rodriquez is a Southern California native. She attended veterinary technician school at Carrington College in Sacramento, CA. She began working at a non-profit wildlife clinic in 2010 and decided that she would like to be a surgery technician. Since then she has worked at spay/neuter clinics and referral hospitals as a compassionate surgery technician.  At home she cares for her 4 year old Bichon Frise, named Hiro, and her orange tabby cat names Nugget.

Eric McQuinn, Veterinary Technician

Eric was born and raised in Chicago.  He worked his way through college as a kennel assistant and eventually as a veterinary technician.  He graduated from Joliet Junior College in 2004, and then headed west.  Eric has 11 years of experience in the veterinary field.  He now lives in Culver City with his tree frogs Yolandi and Ninja (no dogs or cats allowed in the apartment!).  In his free time, Eric likes to play video games (Spore) and go dancing with his girlfriend Desirae.